Good reading
I just beat my personal best. I read Max Brooks's "The Zombie Survival Guide" in less than 36 hours. Including the time I spent sleeping and working. I have never picked up a book like this.

As the name implies, it's a book about surviving Zombie infestation and attack. Max plays it straight throughout the entire book. He does such a good job of treating the subject matter seriously that I have to admit that after reading the book, I googled for some of the fictional people and places he refers to in supposed zombie attacks of yester year.

Once I read the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. Just for a moment, imagine that you live in a world where Night of the Living dead has happened. Also imagine that the zombie outbreak has been contained and dealt with. Lastly imagine that someone took the time to compile all known evidence about the zombies and condense it into a survival manual. This book puts you in that world. After reading this book, I have found myself looking at windows and thinking "those will never hold off any more than 4 or 5 zombies".

WOW
I saw HBO's promo for the new season of 6 Feet Under and I just had to find out who was singing that song.

My search led me to discover the wonderful music of Nina Simone. She is everything that Billie Holiday is hyped to be and so much more. I was so deeply touched by her music that I just had to write something about it.

More thoughts
I finished Randall Kennedy's book yesterday. It hasn't helped me come to any conclusions on the subject, but it has given me much to think about.

The concern that Mr. Kennedy raised that I had never thought much on was what if anything should be done about the use of "nigger-as insult".

When presented with that question, I'm left wondering how can we deal with such a subject without trampling on everyone's free speech rights. My current leaning is towards the proposition that the use of "nigger-as insult" can and shoult be a mitigating factor during any criminal proceeding against the target of the slur. For example, if someone physically assaults another person after being called a nigger, the fact that the slur was used should be a determining factor in deciding that person's punishment.

I'm not your "nigga"
I have been asked why it's perfectly acceptable for a black person to use "The N word" in a fraternal manner, but it's not acceptable for a white person to do so.

In the 10 years or so that I have been pondering this, I am no closer to an answer today than I was then.

My political awakening came in my late teens. That was also when I stopped calling other black men nigger fraternally.

I've heard people talk about empowerment disempowerment, taking a word that is intended to be hurtful and making it your own; thereby robbing that word and those who use it of power. That theory makes sense to me, but the people doing it are not the type of people who'd be politically aware enough to know that's what they are doing.

To think of what that word means only leaves me with the question "Why would I use that word towards someone I like?" I can't answer that question. I've never been able to. I don't know if I ever will be able to.

I can't be the only one who sees this.
In my personal opinion, no black man with any self respect or a mind of his own would ever be a registered Democrat. I plan on using this blog to explore the depth of the foolishness of black Democrats.